Foot Loose

Kick up your heels at this weekend's Colorado Shred Symposium freestyle footbag tournament -- the sport better known to most of us as hacky sack.

"Hacky Sack is a brand name," explains Mile-Hi Shred Club member Sunny Dawn Freeman Genz, who is hosting the event. "But people who play the sport seriously know it as footbag."

The fifth annual tourney will feature a variety of freestyle competitions, including Sick Trick and Most Rippin' Run, along with beginner clinics and an open four-square competition.

"Footbag is all about practice, because a lot of the tricks are dexterity moves," says Freeman Genz. "It's almost shocking to watch. You wouldn't think that the body would be able to do these things."

The Shred Symposium takes place today and tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the St. Cajetan's Center, Ninth Street and Lawrence Way on the Auraria campus; registration fees range from $5 to $25, and spectating is free. A special show featuring professional footbaggers and comedians will follow today's tournament; tickets are $5 in advance, $7 at the door. For more information, call 1-866-542-5373 or visit www.footbag.org. -- Julie Dunn

Fists of FuryCastle Fight Night looks like a hitSAT, 2/28

Get ready for a total knockout at tonight's Fight Night at the Castle, featuring a welterweight boxing match between Alfonso Gomez and Bernardo Guereca and a heavyweight fight between Kenny Lemos and Louis Monaco. Five additional bouts round out the card. "We want to bring boxing back to Denver, to get some big-name fighters here," says promoter Aaron Weissenfluh. "These boxers are all aggressive and straightforward. They're ready to fight."

The first scuffle breaks out at 4 p.m. at the Radisson Graystone Castle Hotel, 83 East 120th Avenue in Thornton. Tickets, $25 to $50, can be purchased in advance at 303-432-8994 or www.denverfightnews.com. -- Julie Dunn

SkiBikes! Yikes! THURS, 2/26

Tired of alpine skiing or snowboarding? Then take a seat at this weekend's second annual SkiBike America Festival at Durango Mountain Resort. Ski-bikes are specially engineered bike-like apparatuses that use skis instead of wheels to allow riders, who usually wear short foot skis to help with balance, descend snow-covered mountains.

"Ski-biking combines the feeling of riding a motorcycle with mountain biking and skiing. It's an amazing sensation," says Rod Ratzlaff, director of the Lake George-based American SkiBike Association. "It's a blast -- you can cover all different types of mountain terrain."

Going on now through Saturday, the festival features slalom and multi-cross ski-bike races along with discounted ski-bike rentals and free clinics for beginners.

"Ski-biking is still very much a minority sport, so to have a bunch of ski-bikers in one place is amazing," says Ratzlaff. "The social and educational aspects of this event are what is really important. We want to give people an opportunity to try out the sport."